An established retailer will take the Nelson Designs space at the Shops at Tallgrass

Last week, Nelson Designs announced it is moving to the Waterfront in December.

Now, Uptown Cheapskate has announced it will take Nelson Designs’ space at the Shops at Tallgrass to open a second Wichita store.

Mollie Schell opened the first Uptown Cheapskate at 2243 N. Tyler, near 21st Street. in late 2010.

Schell said she started looking for space for a second resale shop before the pandemic, “And, of course, COVID threw a kink in a lot of things.”

She said everything came together, both with staffing needs and finding a second site with close proximity to stores that also cater to her clientele.

“It is a good opportunity for value-minded shoppers to also be close to other great alternatives for teen and young adult . . . apparel,” Schell said.

The new store will be similar to her existing one with a focus on teen and young adult apparel and accessories for men and women.

Schell said she has older customers as well.

“We just target the trends that we carry towards that younger market.”

In addition to clothing, there are handbags, shoes, belts and jewelry.

Craig Simon of Landmark Commercial Real Estate and Kristin Stang of InSite Real Estate Group handled the deal for the new space, which Schell said she hopes to open by spring.

When the store opens initially, it will be for Schell to buy clothing items from people looking to sell from their own closets. She said she buys the items outright. They are not put on consignment.

Four to six weeks after that, she’ll open to buying customers.

Uptown Cheapskate is a franchise with more than 100 stores. Schell owns the franchise in Tulsa, too. She’s not sure if she’s going to expand there as well.

“Time will tell.”

This story was originally published October 24, 2022 at 4:47 AM.